When Ben Franklin learned that a storm he experienced in Philadelphia later affected Boston, he decided to find out more about how storms move.

It turns out that his observations led to Franklin being a pioneer in investigating storm movements.

He discovered that storms can actually move in a different direction than the way the wind is blowing – which gives rise to his accurate theories on high pressure and low pressure and how they can affect storm motions.

Ben Franklin: The Storm Chaser

Believe it or not, Ben Franklin was also one of America’s first storm chasers! Of course, he didn’t use a high-powered truck equipped with computers. Franklin did his storm chasing on horseback. One well-noted story involves Ben Franklin following a dust devil for a mile on horseback.

He described his observations in a letter. Franklin reported using his whip to try breaking up the dust devil — but that didn’t do a thing to disturb the dust devil!

He went on to realize that the Gulf Stream is a ribbon-like band of warm water traveling through the Atlantic Ocean. He eventually made a very accurate map of the Gulf Stream.

Franklin Invented the Lightning Rod

People living in Florida and other lightning-prone places have Ben Franklin to thank for inventing something very important in protecting homes and property from high-voltage attacks from above: the lightning rod.

His understanding of lightning’s electrical properties during his famous experiment with the key on the kite led him to soon inventing the lightning rod, which has helped save countless buildings from damage or destruction from lightning – and lightning rods have saved countless lives, too!

Ben Franklin Wrote Poor Richard’s Almanack

Almanacs are popular for helpful hints, general information, astronomical insight, and seasonal weather forecasts. From 1732 to 1758, Ben Franklin wrote a very popular almanac called Poor Richard’s Almanack.

10,000 copies were sold yearly, and in it came seasonal weather forecasts, which proved very helpful to the many who used those weather forecasts for farming.

My love for coins and numismatics began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I'm a member of both the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG). I've also been studying meteorology and watching weather patterns for years. I enjoy sharing little-known facts and fun stuff about coins, weather, travel, health, food, and living green.